FIRST ON FOX - Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey fired embattled Democratic St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner on Thursday after she refused to resign following a weekend accident involving a repeat offender who was free despite several violations of his bond terms.
The AG's office is in the process of filing a petition quo warrantor, which is the legal mechanism under state statute that allows the Attorney General to remove a prosecutor who is neglectful in her duties.
"This is about a quantum of evidence that demonstrates her failure to prosecute cases, failure to inform and confer with victims in cases and failure to file new cases that are referred by law enforcement agencies," Bailey told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"I'm a former prosecutor. I've worked in a county prosecutor's office, and what motivated me every day was the rule of law and finding justice for victims. And rather than finding justice for victims and protecting victims, the circuit attorney of the city of St. Louis was creating new victims. And someone's got to hold her accountable and that's that's why we're moving forward with our quo warranto," he said.
On Wednesday, Bailey gave Gardner an ultimatum – resign or be removed – after a motorist who repeatedly violated his bond conditions on earlier charges crashed and left a teenage volleyball player with major injuries that required both her legs be amputated. Gardner's office is the one that should be monitoring compliance with bond conditions and revoking them when those terms are violated.
The victim, Janae Edmondson, 16, visited St. Louis with her family last Saturday for a volleyball tournament. While the family was in the downtown area, 21-year-old Daniel Riley was speeding, failed to yield and caused a collision, ultimately striking and pinning Edmondson.
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According to local reports, Edmondson only survived due to her father’s quick thinking and military training. She remains in the hospital in critical condition.
In the days following the crash, local reports revealed Riley was out on bail awaiting trial for a 2020 armed robbery. According to KSDK, Riley had violated the terms of his bond at least 50 times, but the circuit attorney's office did not ask for his bond to be revoked.
On Tuesday, Garnder released a statement saying, "our hearts go out to the victim and her family for this unspeakable tragedy that will undoubtedly have a lasting impact not only on her, but her family and loved ones."
"It's unfortunate that there are those who choose to twist the facts to take advantage of this situation for their own selfish motives, "Gardner said. "This is not the time for finger pointing, it's time to support this family, and ensure that justice is served."
